Major U.S. companies and business groups are celebrating the new collaboration and commitments among more than two-dozen U.S. governors, who have pledged to work together to advance strategies that eliminate emissions from buildings and collectively quadruple heat pump installations by the end of the decade.
A New State-To-State Collaboration For Clean Building
Following the announcement today by the 25 governors in the U.S. Climate Alliance at Climate Week NYC 2023, more than a dozen companies, institutions, and trade groups released a letter today supporting new state-to-state collaboration. The signatories to the letter include several building solutions leaders, such as JLL, Johnson Controls, NAESCO, Schneider Electric, Sealed, Siemens, Trane Technologies, and ZenniHome, as well as other major businesses such as Burton, CommonSpirit, DSM, Grove Collaborative, Legacy Vacations and Resorts, Mass General and San Francisco Airport.
“Bold action by state leaders is urgently needed to send clear, long-term economic signals to manufacturers, developers, building and business owners, and residents alike. Building decarbonization is essential to our ambitious climate goals and overall air quality and public health,” the letter reads. “We strongly support the execution of multi-state collaborative approaches to develop and implement market-enabling initiatives that unlock the long-term savings, and climate and clean air benefits of building decarbonization.”
Residential and commercial buildings are responsible for 40% of annual energy consumption, making it a leading cause of climate and air pollution. Energy efficiency and building electrification policies are critical to reducing pollution and its harmful effects.
The signatories of the letter emphasized support for state policy efforts that incorporate specific building sector initiatives within their climate action plans, including gas transition planning, expanding energy efficiency and electrification programs, accelerating heat pump adoption, and approving more ambitious energy codes, equipment standards, and building performance standards. Companies recognize these policies are vital both to reduce the risks that climate change poses to their facilities, supply chains, and workforces, and to enhance efficiency and electrification efforts that lower energy costs.
“Clean, energy efficient buildings can provide important cost saving benefits for households and businesses, while reducing pollution that harms communities and the climate,” said Savannah Bertrand, policy outreach manager, Sealed. “Sealed supports innovative policies that help people make their homes more comfortable, healthy, and sustainable, and we are excited that so many of the nation’s governors are committed to advancing these solutions.”
“As a climate innovator, Trane Technologies understands the financial and environmental benefits of sustainable energy efficient solutions for heating and cooling of the built environment. We applaud governors across the U.S. for working together on programs and policies that will help enable policy certainty,” said Paul Camuti, executive vice president and chief technology and sustainability officer of Trane Technologies. “We remain committed to working with these states, and we look forward to providing them with critical insights from our industry to help drive adoption of best practices.”
As recent federal climate legislation – highlighted by the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act – sparks increasing investment into climate solutions across the U.S., state policy is proving instrumental to ensure new programs are properly implemented and to maximize private-sector activity within their states. With federal funding available to states for energy efficiency and other clean building programs, it is especially important for states to design robust policy frameworks that ensure a strong return on investment in the building sector.
“State policy is critical to accelerating the adoption of technologies that are good for the climate and good for business. Companies support initiatives that encourage collaboration across state lines to develop best practices that tackle the climate crisis,” said Alli Gold Roberts, senior director of state policy, Ceres. “Ceres and the companies we work with applaud U.S. governors for their efforts to cut pollution from the building sector and look forward to collaborating on ambitious solutions to tackle this important sector.”
About Ceres
Ceres is a nonprofit organization working with the most influential capital market leaders to solve the world’s greatest sustainability challenges. Through our powerful networks and global collaborations of investors, companies and nonprofits, we drive action and inspire equitable market-based and policy solutions throughout the economy to build a just and sustainable future. For more information, visit ceres.org and follow @CeresNews.
